The news of the death of Nollywood actor, John Odonwodo, a.k.a. Junior Pope, April 10, was the main news item across Nigeria and possibly beyond. It was a death that shocked Nollywood and fans of the industry. Junior Pope drowned alongside three other colleagues in Anam River in Anambra State while returning from a film shoot. Those that drowned when the boat capsized were not wearing life jackets.
Many had blamed the deceased for not wearing safety gear, as well as the producer of the film for not providing such. The boat operators were also blamed.
Indeed, it remains inconceivable why anyone, even if they know how to swim, can embark on a river crossing without adequate protection, given that waves can cause rivers to become violent.
But we know that 90 percent of people who use boats as a means of transportation in Nigeria do not wear protective gear. Indeed, within the past one year, news of water travellers drowning across many rivers in Nigeria have been rife. In every case, the victims were not wearing life jackets. They included men, women and children. One thus wonders, why people play with their lives.
In land transportation, such carelessness is also the case, with many motor drivers not wearing their seat belts, while motorcycle riders also don’t wear helmets despite repeated warnings by appropriate agencies. But unlike water travelers, those travelling on land always contend with officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, who operate on the roads and apprehend defaulters.
In Nigeria, we have the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency, NIMASA, that should be ensuring and enforcing the safety of water travellers. The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, is in effect saddled with the enthronement of global best practices in the provision of maritime services in Nigeria.
Its areas of focus include effective Maritime Safety Administration, Maritime Labour Regulation, Marine Pollution Prevention and Control, Search and Rescue, Cabotage enforcement, Shipping Development and Ship Registration, Training and Certification of Seafarers, and Maritime Capacity Development. Using modern tools that guarantee efficiency and effectiveness, we are determined to develop indigenous capacity and eliminate all hindrances.
But by the very fact that water travellers in Nigeria are hardly made to apply safety measures, this agency has failed woefully in its duties and should come in for blame for the vast majority of water travel accidents across the country. It is a pity that it will take the deaths of many Nigerians for government to begin taking stern measures against travelling without protective gear in water, as the deaths of these actors have shown.
But, as it is said, it is never too late to do the right things. Henceforth, NIMASA should ensure that every boat is not only certified fit to operate but should have functional protective gears for passengers, as well as having trained personnel attached to every boat to help passengers in emergency situations. Had such measures been in place, the recent deaths and those before them would not have occurred.
Passengers should also refuse to travel in water if protective gear are not provided.
Sadly, however, we are in a country where human life counts for little and where government officials siphon monies meant for the betterment of their people. But they can be made to sit up and be alive to their responsibilities, failing which those in charge should be prosecuted. We pray that God will give the families of the recent victims, the fortitude to bear their loss and that henceforth, the right things will be done by both the government and the people.
